For San Diego resident, John Hastie, #OhmHours are a game - and they’re a game he’s winning - in a big way.

Thanks to some well-thought-out strategy and a little bit of smart home technology, the New Zealand native earned nearly $2400 in 2017 alone by saving energy with OhmConnect - and that’s without any money earned for referrals.

But it hasn’t always been as easy or as profitable as it is for him now.

“I remember my very first #OhmHour - I got 57 points. It was only 57 cents, but I kept doing them just to play along,” he explained. “Then, in the beginning of 2017, the formula changed and status levels and streaks came into play. That’s when I delved a bit deeper into it and figured out that if I could keep saving for every #OhmHour, my bonus was going to increase and I had the chance to do really well.”

And to say he’s doing well is an understatement.

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Here’s exactly how much money Hastie makes saving energy

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Hastie keeps a spreadsheet to track his usage and savings, and was willing to share the exact amount of earnings he’s collected from OhmConnect savings in 2017:

In January, he earned $1.69

In February, he earned $26.99.

In March, he earned $29.59.

In April, he earned $96.87.

In May, he earned $225.13.

In June, he earned $487.52.

In July, he earned $228.40.

In August, he earned $306.44

In September, he earned $121.83

In October, he earned $428.71

In November, he earned $236.56

In December, he earned $127.77

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In June of 2017, Hastie explains, the state of California had a two-hour Flex Alert, a request for all consumers to conserve. OhmConnect offered to pay triple the normal #OhmHour payout, so he banked $188 in those two hours.

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His winning formula (plus tricks you can steal for yourself!)

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Hastie has experimented with his OhmConnect dashboard for months now and devised a strategy that earns him the most money.

He lives with one other person, a cat and a dog in a 2200 square foot home, so he’s proving to folks who’ve doubted him that big earnings with OhmConnect are not only for those with huge houses and sky-high energy bills. To reach the level of earnings he’s achieved, Hastie is strategic about the timing of his energy usage and uses status levels and streaks to his advantage.

For example, he’s added smart plugs to his TV and fridge, which now automatically shut off off during #OhmHours. He’s also connected his smart thermostat to OhmConnect, so it works the same way.

He treats OhmConnect like a game. Each month, he attempts to drive down his energy usage during #OhmHours to rack up more and more points and to cash out even more money. Which appliances consume the most energy? Can he add more smart plugs? How many bonuses can he hit?

“What I like about it is I want to save as much as I can, and I try to have a new record each time,” he says.

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His #OhmHour success strategy looks like:

Never missing an #OhmHour. He’s at a streak of 102 and currently ⅔ of all of his points come from his streak bonus.

10 smartplugs, all of which are connected to his OhmConnect account and turn off automatically when an #OhmHour is called

Strategically timing the cooling of his house during summer months and the charging of his electric vehicle around #OhmHours

Regularly clicking on the “Tell us how you’re saving!” button in OhmConnect emails (earning him 20 tokens each time)

Focusing his energy on the summer months when the need (and payoff!) is greater.

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“For me, it’s almost all about the streak. I’m at Platinum status now with a 500% bonus on every #OhmHour. I make it a priority never to miss an #OhmHour and to keep my streak alive If I ever break my streak, it will be by accident and my points would be reduced by 2/3rds.”

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As an OhmConnect user, John has a unique referral code that will score him $20 for anyone who signs up on his team. Want to give John a virtual high five to say thanks for sharing his story? Sign up on his team!

Katie is an award-winning journalist and digital strategist with more than 10 years of experience in print and digital media and a passion for the environment and fighting climate change. Prior to joining OhmConnect, she was a digital content strategist and writer for Environmental Defence and WWF-Canada. While envious of her colleagues in sunny California, she’s a Canadian at heart and lives with her husband in Toronto, Ontario.